DAILY, WEEKEND, AND HOLIDAY INTERNET EVANGELIZE TO THE WORLD MINISTRY

Carpenter ‎Furniture were not nailed but had plug connection. In order to drill the holes for a piece of furniture, one used a drill. A bowstring tied around the drill made it spiraling. ‎ Exod 25:10, 25:23

Summary of Romans 12:9-10 Romans 12:9 Excerpt Paul began these specific exhortations with the key ingredient for success:  Love must be sincere.  This is God’s love, which has been ministered to believers by the Holy Spirit ( 5:5 ) and must be ministered by them to others in the Holy Spirit’s power. “Sincere” translates  anypokritos  (lit., “without hypocrisy”), also used of love (2 Cor.  6:6 ; 1 Peter  1:22 ), of faith (1 Tim.  1:5 ; 2 Tim.  1:5 ), and of wisdom (James  3:17 ).  More Witmer, John A. “Romans.”  The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures . Ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. 488. Print.

Paul’s Message to Believers Excerpt ‎The Book of Romans not only contains repeated references to the gospel but it also is clear that Paul, as He was writing to the Roman church, was seeking to build up those who already had become believers in their faith, obedience and service to the Lord. Paul had never been to Rome when he wrote the Roman epistle. He did not know most of the hordes of people who lived there. Primarily he was writing to a people who already had become saints, that is, a people set apart through their faith in Christ. Now it must be clear that these “saints” to whom he addresses the book in chapter one are not people who have been so appointed by other people or so honored by a church. These are people who have been made “saints” by God through His work on their behalf. That is to say, they are a people who have been  “set apart”  in holiness by an act of God Himself. …  More Northrup, Bernard E.  True Evangelism: Paul’s Presentati...

Jesus Accused By the Pharisees Excerpt The debate had thus begun. It was initiated by the Pharisees over the legitimacy—the truth—of Jesus’ witness. They called his testimony into question because they held it to be a self-witness ( 8:13 ). Indeed, Jesus himself had agreed at  5:31  that if he were merely a self-witness, his testimony would be false (cf.  Deut 19:15 ;  m. Ketub.   2:9 ). Obviously they accepted that statement but refused to hear the other four witnesses he called to testify at that point (John the Baptist, his works, the Father, and Scripture;  5:33–47 ). It was pointless, however, to argue with these self-righteous judges. So Jesus turned not to call more witnesses but to prepare for his judgment by addressing their ignorance. How could they make decisions about his authenticity ( alēthēs ,  8:13–14 ) if they were ignorant of the two basic questions involved in his life and ministry ( 8:14 )? Those questions could be summed...

April 30   Be it unto thee even as thou wilt         Matt. 15:28 Oh, the victories of prayer! They are the mountain-tops of the Bible. They take us back to the plains of Mamre, to the fords of Peniel, to the prison of Joseph, to the triumphs of Moses, to the transcendent victories of Joshua, to the deliverances of David, to the miracles of Elijah and Elisha, to the whole story of the Master’s life, to the secret of Pentecost, to the keynote of Paul’s unparalleled ministry, to the lives of saints and the deaths of martyrs, to all that is most sacred and sweet in the history of the Church and the experience of the children of God. And when, for us, the last conflict shall have passed, and the footstool of prayer shall have given place to the harp of praise, the spots of time that shall be gilded with the most celestial and eternal radiance shall be those, often linked with deepest sorrow and darkest night, over which we have the inscription, “Jehov...

April 30: They’re Futile; This Isn’t Joshua 22:10–24:33; 2 Corinthians 13:11–14; Psalm 60:1–12 If you knew it was time to die, to say goodbye for good, what would you say? How would your final hoorah sound? In an episode of Northern Exposure, Dr. Joel Fleischman is convinced that he is dying. Joel, who is usually conservative, begins risking everything: he drives a motorcycle way too fast without a helmet, gets a ticket that he rips up, and eventually crashes the bike—all while feeling no remorse. He then returns to his office to learn that he is actually fine; his doctor’s initial inclination was incorrect. Almost immediately, he becomes angry that he didn’t know his fate earlier. In his recklessness, he could have prematurely ended his life. The risks you take when you think your life is over are quite different from those you’re willing to take when you think you’re fine. The things you say, the person you are, would be very different if you knew tomorrow were your last ...

April 30th The spontaneity of love Love suffereth long, and is kind … 1 Cor. 13:4–8 . Love is not premeditated, it is spontaneous, that is, it bursts up in extraordinary ways. There is nothing of mathematical certainty in Paul’s category of love. We cannot say—‘Now I am going to think no evil; I am going to believe all things.’ The characteristic of love is spontaneity. We do not settle statements of Jesus in front of us as a standard; but when His Spirit is having His way with us, we live according to His standard without knowing it, and on looking back we are amazed at the disinterestedness of a particular emotion, which is the evidence that the spontaneity of real love was there. In everything to do with the life of God in us, its nature is only discerned when it is past. The springs of love are in God, not in us. It is absurd to look for the love of God in our hearts naturally, it is only there when it has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. I...

Morning, April 30                                              Go To Evening Reading          “And all the children of Israel murmured.”          — Numbers 14:2 There are murmurers amongst Christians now, as there were in the camp of Israel of old. There are those who, when the rod falls, cry out against the afflictive dispensation. They ask, “Why am I thus afflicted? What have I done to be chastened in this manner?” A word with thee, O murmurer! Why shouldst thou murmur against the dispensations of thy heavenly Father? Can he treat thee more hardly than thou deservest? Consider what a rebel thou wast once, but he has pardoned thee! Surely, if he in his wisdom sees fit now to chasten thee, thou shouldst not complain. After all, art thou smitten as hardly as thy sins deserve? Consider the corruption which is ...

Pottery forms Among the pottery forms that derive from Canaan are handmade “Middle Bronze IIA” cooking pots found in the earliest Hyksos levels at Maskhuta. Redmount, Carol A. “Ethnicity, Pottery, and the Hyksos at Tell El-Maskhuta in the Egyptian Delta.” Biblical Archaeologist: Volume 58 1-4 2001 : 186. Print.

Origin of the Pharisees Philippians 3:5 Excerpt The origins of the Pharisees are obscure. According to Jewish tradition, Pharisaic (= rabbinic) Judaism can be traced back to Ezra and the beginnings of the scribal movement in the fifth century  bc . At the opposite extreme, a few scholars argue that, since there are no explicit references to the Pharisees in historical documents prior to the second century  bc , Pharisaism appeared suddenly after the Maccabean revolt (167  bc ). Many specialists take the position that perhaps as early as the third century  bc  one can find evidence of an incipient form of Pharisaism (as in The Wisdom of Joshua [Jesus] ben Sirach, also known as Ecclesiasticus). It may well be, moreover, that the intellectual pursuits associated with the work of the scribes did have something to do with the development of the Pharisees. It is also probable that prior to the Maccabean revolt some distinctive Pharisaic concerns appeared in...

Roman Soldier ‎The picture shows a Roman soldier with plate armor, put-on short sword, helmet, rectangular shield, tunica, and sandals. ‎Matt 8:9; 27:27; 28:12; Luke 3:14; Acts 10:7; 12:4, 12:6, 12:18; 21:32; 23:10, 23:23, 23:27, 23:31, 23:32; 28:16

David and Goliath Excerpt A champion is needed to fight a giant Philistine called Goliath. David  volunteers. This should be Saul’s task, as he is a head taller than any of his men  — and has one of the few suits of armour! But David goes out to meet Goliath,  armed only with faith in the living God — and his shepherd’s sling. This is  more  than a test of bravery. It is a brave declaration that the God of Israel is greater than all other gods. As David says: The whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will  know  that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s ( 17:46–47 ). This is God’s war! The lad with faith takes on the giant of fear. Goliath  stands for all the pride and power of paganism. David and his sling are so puny  that victory can only be an act of God.  More Knowles, Andrew.  The Bible Guide . 1st Augsburg books ed. Minneapolis...

The Father is Greater than I John 14:28 Excerpt Thus the Arians, the Gnostics, and their modern successors have used the statement “the Father is greater than I” to make a separation in the Godhead and minimize Jesus in relation to the ultimate God.184 As I indicated in the discussion of the Prologue, Jesus was from the beginning directly associated with God ( 1:1 ) and certainly not merely “a god,” as the Jehovah Witnesses have argued.185 Moreover, he was active in the creation of all things ( 1:3 ).  More Borchert, Gerald L.  John 12–21 . Vol. 25B. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002. Print. The New American Commentary

Word Puzzle Job 19:19-25

My Redeemer Lives       19     i All my close friends abhor me, And those whom I love have turned against me.       20     j My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.       21     “Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me!       22     Why do you k persecute me as God does , And are not satisfied with my flesh?       23     “Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!       24     That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever!       25     For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; ( Job 19:19-25 ) [1]...

Stand Firm in Freedom Excerpt If Galatians is the Magna Carta of Christian liberty, then  Gal 5:1  has reason  to be considered one of the key verses of the epistle. With the language of  freedom and slavery still ringing in their ears from the analogy of Hagar and  Sarah, the Galatians are now told by Paul: “Plant your feet firmly therefore  within the freedom that Christ has won for us, and do not let yourselves be  caught again in the shackles of slavery” (Phillips). 10  This verse contains both an  assertion, “For freedom … Christ has set us free,” and a command based upon it,  “Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of  slavery.”  More George, Timothy.  Galatians . Vol. 30. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994. Print. The New American Commentary

April 29   Thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me         Isa. 49:23 Quiet waiting before God would save from many a mistake and from many a sorrow. J. Hudson Taylor Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour. Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

April 29: Examine Thy Self Joshua 21:1–22:9; 2 Corinthians 13:1–10; Psalm 59:1–17 Before advising others on how they should act, self-examination is always necessary. When the Corinthians questioned the authenticity of Paul and his colleagues’ ministry (which is ironic, since he had planted their church), Paul says to them: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are unqualified?” (2 Cor 13:5). None of us are ready for the ministry that Jesus has for us because we’re not worthy of the great gift of salvation He has offered. We are meant to find our identity and calling in Christ and to lead out of the gifts He has given us (see 1 Cor 12). For this reason, Paul makes this claim: “And I hope that you will recognize that we are not unqualified! Now we pray to God that you not do wrong in any way, not that we are seen as approved, but that you do what is good, even t...

April 29th The graciousness of uncertainty It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 1 John 3:2 . Naturally, we are inclined to be so mathematical and calculating that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We imagine that we have to reach some end, but that is not the nature of spiritual life. The nature of spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty, consequently we do not make our nests anywhere. Common sense says—‘Well, supposing I were in that condition …’ We cannot suppose ourselves in any condition we have never been in. Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life: gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should be rather an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. Immediately we abandon to God, and do the du...

Morning, April 29                                             Go To Evening Reading          “Thou art my hope in the day of evil.”           — Jeremiah 17:17 The path of the Christian is not always bright with sunshine; he has his seasons of darkness and of storm. True, it is written in God’s Word, “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace;” and it is a great truth, that religion is calculated to give a man happiness below as well as bliss above; but experience tells us that if the course of the just be “As the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day,” yet sometimes that light is eclipsed. At certain periods clouds cover the believer’s sun, and he walks in darkness and sees no light. There are many who have rejoiced in the presence of God for a season; they have b...

Winepress (cross section and top view) ‎Ripe grapes are put in the left basin (a) wherein they are trodden with bare feet. The juice from the squashed grapes flows through a groove (b) into the right basin (c), from where it is filled into jugs. The overflowing juice collects itself at the deepest place (d). Wine presses like that were cut out of the rock in order to prevent the juice from seeping down into the ground. ‎Num 18:27, 18:30; Deut 15:14; 16:13; Neh 13:15; Job 24:11; Prov 3:10; Isa 5:2; 16:10; 63:3; Jer 25:30; Lam 1:15; Hos 9:2; Joel 2:24; 3:13; Haggai 2:16; Sirach 33:16–17; Matt 21:33; Mark 12:1; Rev 14:19–20

Magdala ‎The village Magdala where Mary Magdalene came from was located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The excavations of this site proofed that this place experienced a period of prosperity at the time of Jesus . The Streets were constructed in Greek style. Magdala was a regional center for pickling fish, which brought some moderate wealth to the residents. ‎ Matt 27:56, 27:61; 28:1; Mark 15:40, 15:47; 16:1, 16:9; Luke 24:10; John 19:25; 20:1, 20:18

Bethlehem: Greek Orthodox Priests ‎Bethlehem. Greek Orthodox priests in high hats and festive robes in shades of gold and purple waiting in Manger Square for the arrival of the Patriarch on Christ mas Eve. Waiting for the Archangel, who is the Patriarch, symbolizes waiting for the Messiah .

Righteous Noah Excerpt Noah is distinguished from the “people of his time” by his upright  character (i.e., “the only good man,”   GNB ). His piety and righteous courage  became renowned in later times ( Ezek 14:14 ,  20 ;  Isa 54:9–10 ), and he was  commonly associated with the virtue of godliness ( Heb 11:7 ;  1 Pet 3:20 ), receiving  the unique appellation “preacher of righteousness” ( 2 Pet 2:5 ). Jewish literature  celebrated Noah’s place in history as the paragon of righteousness (e.g.,  Sir   44:17 ;  Jub.   5:19 ;  Wis   10:4 ;  1 Enoch 67:1 ) and added to his reputation by fanciful stories about his birth (e.g.,  1QapGen   2 ;  1 Enoch   106 ). 12  More Mathews, K. A.  Genesis 1-11:26 . Vol. 1A. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996. Print. The New American Commentary

Visions of the Son of Man 12 a  Action                                  Then I turned to see the voice     b  Characterization                       that spoke with me.     c   Background-Action (d)             And having turned     d  Experience                          b I saw     e  List-Item                          ...

April 28   To him be glory both now and forever         2 Peter 3:18 Believer, you are anticipating the time when you shall join the saints above in ascribing all glory to Jesus; but are you glorifying Him now? The apostle’s words are, “To him be glory both now and forever.” C. H. Spurgeon Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour. Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

April 28: The Subtle Sinner Joshua 19:10–20:9; 2 Corinthians 12:11–21; Psalm 57:1–58:11 Some sins slip through the cracks—the ones that emerge in hushed tones between like-minded Christians. Sometimes these sins seem respectable because they occur out of supposed concerns for the Church or others. But they can leave deep gashes in the life of a community because they often go unchecked. And it’s these sins that Paul addresses shortly before closing his letter to the Corinthians: “For I am afraid lest somehow when I arrive, I will not find you as I want, and I may be found by you as you do not want. I am afraid lest somehow there will be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, pride, disorder” (2 Cor 12:20). While the Corinthians were guilty of flagrant sins like impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness, they were also sinning in ways that subtly undermined Paul’s authority. Slander and gossip created deep divisions in the Corinthian chur...

April 28th What you will get Thy life will I give thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest. Jeremiah 45:5 . This is the unshakable secret of the Lord to those who trust Him—‘I will give thee thy life.’ What more does a man want than his life? It is the essential thing. ‘Thy life for a prey’ means that wherever you may go, even if it is into hell, you will come out with your life, nothing can harm it. So many of us are caught up in the shows of things, not in the way of property and possessions, but of blessings. All these have to go; but there is something grander that never can go—the life that is “hid with Christ in God.” Are you prepared to let God take you into union with Himself, and pay no more attention to what you call the ‘great things’? Are you prepared to abandon entirely and let go? The test of abandonment is in refusing to say—‘Well, what about this?’ Beware of suppositions. Immediately you allow—‘What about this?’ it means you have not aband...